October Conservation Tip

Back to the Roots...or seeds

 heirloom fruits and vegetables

Now, what exactly are heirloom fruits and vegetables?

"heir·loom  n.

1. A valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations.

2. An article of personal property included in an inherited estate.

3. A cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. An heirloom often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavor or unusual coloration. [1]"
[1] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/heirloom

Superior flavor sounds good, doesn't it. So as I picked up a flyer on our trip to the Solar Living Institute back in August, advertising the :

National Heirloom Exposition

The World's Purest Food Fair

in Santa Rosa, I decided I had to check that out!

I was not disappointed, the fruits and vegetable and even livestock varieties were mindboggling.

And lovingly displayed:

I knew that heirloom tomatoes are having a come back,

but the diversity was just beyond words,

vegetables I had never even heard about before

and a refreshing assortment of NOT genetically modified corn!

One of my non vegetable favorites: The dark chocolate brown eggs from the Marans

But not only edibles were showcased, a lot of vendors with related topics had booths at the expo, from seed exchange and books, to garden tools and bee keeper supply and even:

So when you are getting ready to order your seeds for next spring, give some heirloom varieties a thought. If appropriate for you climate zone, you might be needing less fertilizer and pesticides and might yield a crop that is not only "superior in flavor" but will for sure envy your neighbor...;-)

Helpful links:

The National Heirloom Exposition

Peaceful Valley

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Seed Savers Exchange

Comstock, Ferre & Co.


See you next year at the